Top Perps DEX GMX Proposes Expansion to Bitcoin L2 Botanix

Decentralized exchange (DEX) GMX is proposing a move to the EVM-compatible Bitcoin Layer 2 (L2) network, Botanix, according to a press release shared with The Defiant.

The move would mark GMX’s second expansion of the year, after launching on Solana in March, and the protocol’s first move into the Bitcoin space.

Per the release, the proposal will be reviewed and discussed to gauge community support and potential infrastructure agreements prior to a DAO vote, which would officially approve or deny the proposition.

If approved, the deployment would make GMX the first major perpetuals DEX to offer trustless Bitcoin trading on a L2 solution. Trades on the protocol would be secured, settled, and collateralized using native Bitcoin, the press release notes.

Botanix presents an alternative environment for Bitcoin DeFi compared to its competitors, as it is an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible network secured by Bitcoin. The chain’s gas fees average roughly $0.02 per transaction, and five-second block times, according to the announcement.

The expansion would offer a trusted environment for generating yield on native BTC, and a familiar user experience for EVM users.

GMX launched on Arbitrum in 2021 — alongside the launch of Arbitrum itself — and is currently live on Arbitrum, Avalanche, and Solana. The protocol offers perpetual swap derivatives and spot trading, and has amassed $355 million in total value locked (TVL), with 87% of that capital on the Arbitrum network. Per data from DeFiLlama, GMX is currently the 11th largest DEX by TVL.

GMX touts the third highest volume amongst perpetual DEXs with $2.6 billion in volume over the last week, trailing just Hyperliquid and Jupiter.

Botanix Labs COO and co-founder Alisia Painter confirmed that users will be able to use native BTC as margin in GMX on Botanix. She told The Defiant:

“We believe Bitcoin is approaching an inflection point in scalability, similar to what Arbitrum, Optimism, and other L2s have achieved in unlocking new use cases on Ethereum. On Botanix specifically, we’ve seen a clear commitment to ecosystem development, with strong momentum from both native and established DeFi partners,” Coinflipcanada, a GMX core contributor, said in comments to The Defiant on the proposed move.